Koneko chan girl
by Alei-Frozen-Ruby
Summary: Setting: a prehistoric village of the mews. Ichigo, Purin, Minto, Zakuro, and Retasu battled a sea monster which took Masaya and Ryou and disappeared. Trapped in the Sea Monster's palace, they frantically they search for each other.
1. Sea Monster

The night sky shone brightly with stars. A cold wind sauntered through the valley and over to the clans of the Mews. Ichigo, bonded to a wildcat of sorts, was looking out at it. She turned away and looked at her sister.

Kira's animal was the phoenix, which was very rare. It happened only every five-hundred years. Many men had sought her for a wife, but she had refused them all.

Kira and Ichigo were currently staying with a nice man called Keiichiero. He had no interest in either of themlike that and they was just fine and dandy with that. He even cooked well, which was good because Kira would often share the food with her friends in the clans while Ichigo couldn't cook worth beans.

One of their more common suitors was Masaya Aoyama. He just refused to give up. He wasn't even part of the Mew Clans. Kira could always count on Masaya being at her dwelling minutes before dawn. Waking her up from a peaceful sleep with high pitched screeching noises he called sining only to have sharp objects thrown at himself which Kira collected purely for that purpose. Ichigo would throw them though, seeing as Kira couldn't aim. or hit a target. Then the stalker would hide in the bushes and watch her sleep until she threw more shap objects at him, at which point he would run around to the dining room bushes and watch her eat breakfast, then, he would run around to the trees by the door and jump down at her, landing with one knee bended and propose to her with a diamond ring. Kira didn't know where he got the diamond.

Keiichiero didn't know anything about this, he just thought Masaya was a nice guy who wanted to marry her, like most of the other clan men. The voodoo master had killed off all the mean and impertinent ones who were too aggressive because he . . . well . . . let's just say he liked to be amused.

Kira and Ichigo woke upone morning to find that the whole village was up and Masaya wasn't at thier door. They quickly dressed, Kira in the orange deerskin and Ichigo in black leather. They joind thier village friends, Mint, dressed in blue feathrs, Purin, in deerskin, and Retasu, in fish scales. Zakuro was at the head, talking to everyone. "What's going on?" Kira asked. Mint filled them in.

"There's rumors of a sea monster! It has deep black scales and eats young men!" Retasu shuddered. "It's gobbled up five arriors already, plus any number of early morning fisher men," Retasu said and shuddered once more. "The man who vanquishes the monster will get to marry the girl of his choice from this clan," Purin chimed in. "What!" Ichigo and Kira exclaimed. Mint placed a hand on thier shoulders. "Don't worry. That monster won't be going down anytime soon,you have time to run."

"But I don't wanna go," Ichigo whined. "Yeah, you guys are our friends. Maybe you could go with us?" Kira asked hopefully. "No, we must stay here, we are not from outside as you are," Retasu explained. "And besides, these people need us," Mint said haughtily as she sipped a cup of tea.

The girls turned thier attention back to Zakuro. "Any volunteers?" They heard her ask. Many men glanced back at Ichigo and Kira's group and raised thier voices. But the very first ones to do it were Masaya and Ryou. Ryou was sort of the "rich kid" of the village. He was well provided for although he had no parents. His animal was a water dragon. No one knew how this had happened.

Ichigo and Kira froze as Masaya looked back at them. He smiled and waved and headed for the firstcanoe he spotted. Ryou did not follow. Instead, he took a sturdy canoe which had been around for a very long time. Ichigo felt a pang of guilt shared with Kira. Masaya might die. Sure he was an annoying stalker, but, in an inexplicable way, they felt that they would be responsible if he died.

They watched him as he paddled out to sea with Ryou and any other number of men. The sky burst into bright colors as the sun rose. Ichigo, Kira, Mint, Retasu, and Purin watched in silence.


	2. Invaders

**Chapter 2**

Ichigo woke up, expecting some sign of Masaya, but then remembered he was gone. She sighed to herself and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she actually missed Masaya. She couldn't speak for her phoenix sister, Kira, but she guessed Kira was sad too.

Needless to say, Ryou'sbeing gonewasn't very traumatic, except maybe to Retasu and a few mothers who wished to make good matches. More often than not, the girls caught Retasu looking out at the ocean and making sighing noises. Often, Ichigo felt like joining her.

Ichigo quickly dressed and went down stairs to find that Kira and Keiichiero were already eating. "Here's your's, Ichigo," Kira said, pushing a plate of food toward Ichigo. She toyed with part of it, while eating other parts. When Kira finished Ichigo said that she too, was done. Keiichiero looked at Ichigo's plate, but merely smiled and said, "Fine. You two go out and play now, or do whatever it is you do." Ichigo and Kira laughed and waved as they exited thier humbled dwelling.

Mostly all of the men were gone, leaving a village full of women. Now, no one had given this much thought, but once word got around, the village would be invaded by northerners. They were much like the people of the mew mew clans, except they had long pointy ears and were very tall and skinny. They could float to and were very fast travellers and were called cuniclons for no particular reason. The people of the mew mew clans said that once an old wise man had been attacked and yelled something that sounded like, "sin icl ons!". These people also thanked the gods that the cyniclons weren't combined with animals the way the mew mews were.

Ichigo and Kira had barely met up with Retasu, Zakuro, Mint, and Purin when there was a slight commotion. "Come on, let's go see what's happening," Purin said excitedly and began running off toward the center of the happening. Ichigo, Kira, Retasu, Zakuro, and Mint swiftly followed.

In the center of all the hubub were three cyniclons. "This can't be good," Retasu commented.

The first was mounted on a large gray creature resembling an elephant in some respects. He had shoulder length dark green hair with small portions of it tied into sidelocks. The other two were equally spaced behind him. The older one had purple hair, all of it trimmed short except one lock of hair, neatly bound by a leather string, which was in front of his right ear. The last one was really short and resembled a midget with pigtails. He was the younger of the three.

The green haired one spoke first. "We in the north have heard that the men of your village are gone. Is that true?" A slight murmuring went through the crowd of girls and women. "Why does he ask this, Ichgigo-san?" Purin wanted to know. "Shh," Ichigo silenced her. Puring quieted down. "Oh, well, no need to answer that. We have come to take you away from here, to live with the cyniclons and join them with the mew mew clans!" He announced. "Now all of you line up in front of me. side by side!" He ordered. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ichigo shouted up at him. He looked down at her. "I am Kish and I'm taking you ladies back to marry cyniclon men since all of your men are gone," Kish put the plan plainly.

Ichigo trembled with fury. "You'll never get away with this. _I won't let you_." Ichigo glared up at him. He smirked at her. "And just what are you going to do?" She glared up at him with fierce wildcat eyes. "You just watch."

She stood back with her group. "Follow my lead," she whispered.

"Iromote Wildcat Transformation!" She called. A ghost of the wildcat seemed to leap into her. She closed her eyes as she was engulfed in white light. When it vanished there she stood, in a pink combat outfit. It was pink deerskin with shiny shells sewn onto it. She wore armbands of the same material and boots to match. Her hair was done up in two pigtails. A large pink bow with two shiny gold bells was ties around her tail and her neck. She held a heart shaped weapon with a pink bow and two large bells tied on.

"Phoenix Transformation!" Kira yelled.A transluscent phoenix jumped inside of her and she glowed bright with fire. Large fiery wings grew upon her back and the phoenix tail peeped out from beneath her skirt. She glowed a bright red and when it was done she stood back to back with Ichigo, holding a large sword made of fire.

Mint raised her arms and called, "Blue Lorikeet Transformation!" The blue lorikeet ghost jumped into her as the wildcat had done to Ichigo. In a shower of blue sparks Mint was done. She stood on Ichigo's right side, adorned in a blue leather outfit. Her lorikeet wings had been enlarged to fit her size, as had the feather tail. She word sky blue moccasins which matched her leather dress.Her hair was done up in double buns with two locks of hair down by her ears. In her right had was a blue crossbow, loaded and ready to fire.

Retasu stepped up and said, "Finless Porpoise Transformation!" She glowed a bright forest green and grew two white antennae on top of her head. Her hair broke out of its bun and into two long braids running down to her knees. Her green deerskin outfit nicely matched her eyes and two gold bracelets adorned each of her wrists, matching the necklace on her throat. She took her place on Kira's left side. Green and gold tanets occupied both her hands.

Purin summersaulted over Ichigo and Kira shouting, "Golden Lion Tamarin Transformation!" She glowed and monkey ears and monkey tail grew from her body as she landed in front of Ichigo. Her body glowed a bright yellow, like the sun, and when it poufed into a shower of glittering sparkles, she stood there in a yellow leather outfit, much like a leotard, only roomier. There were fingerless gloves on her hands and matching boots on her feet. in one hand she held a golden tambourine and in the other, she held a slightly smaller, but still rather large, brown ring.

Zakuro stood tall over them all and cried out, "Grey Wolf Transformation!" She glowed a bright purple and her ears and tail popped out. She was dressed in a leather two piece. The top went down to mid abdomen and had straps which extended over the sides of her arms. The bottom started rather low and only went down about ten inches from start to finish. She wore long high heeled boots and crossed her arms. One hand held a purple and gold ninetail whip with the handle in the shape ofa crucifix.

Kish looked at them confusedly. "So you wish to present yourselves to us in these ravishing clothes?" Ichigo trembled in fury.

She held her weapon in a dramatic pose and shouted, "Ribbon, Strawberry Check!" The heart shaped weapon unleashed a powerful ribbon shaped stream of magic upon the cyniclons. They were knocked off their large gray elephant resembling beasts. Kira stood beside Ichigo and shouted, "Ribbon, Phoenix Dragon Attack!" and she did a swirling attack move with her fire sword, igniting the ground surrounding the cyniclons. Mint took the stage next, "Ribbon, Mint Echo!" A flurry of mint leaves surrounded the northerners and Mint released three deadly arrows. Each one struck its target. The large gray elephant resembling beasts fell down dead. Kish turned on them, "So, you wish to play do you? Take this, Dragon Swords!" And the attack bolted toward the group of transformed mew mews. Retasu stood in front. She spread her arms and twisted up. "Ribbon, Retasu Rush!" and she brought her arms down. Crystal blue waters from the seashore rose up at her call and came rushing forward as a tidal wave. Retasu used them as a shield and deflected the dragon sword attack. As Kish was about to speak once more Purin bounced up and over Retasu shouting, "Ribbon, Purin Inferno!" She clanged the tambourine and ring together and spun around, when she turned toward the cyniclons, she wielded a fire ball of great magnitude. She released it upon them. "Dragon Swords!" Kish yelled once more and defended himself and his brothers from the fiery column of death. Zakuro stepped up in front of the girls. "Do you give up?" She asked. Kish stood, his brothers behind him. "We will be back," He said and they all vanished from the city.

Ichigo and her friends detransformed and a cheer rose up from the crowd, because, even though most of the men were in love with Ichigo and Kira's crew, they still realized the danger they had been in.

Ichigo and Kira walked home that night with full tummies.


	3. Second Battle

**Chapter 3**

"I-- I can't take it anymore. I'm going after the guys," Ichigo decided. Kira nodded in agreement. "They've been gone way too long," Kira added. "We're going with you," Mint spoke for their cluster of friends. "No, you have to stay to defend the village from the cyniclons," Ichigo told them. "B-- but Ichigo-san," Purin began. Kira silence her. "We have to do this alone. And besides, we've got each other." Mint turned her back to them. "Fine." and she led the group away. Purin looked from Mint to Ichigo and Kira and back again to Mint. She ran after Mint. Ichigo and Kira sighed. "Come on, let's go before they decide to do something," Kira advised and led the way down to the boats.

When they got there they found Mint, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro ready to go. "You're not leaving without us," Mint said. "We're going with you whether you like it or not." Ichigo smiled and Kira jumped into the boat. Ichigo followed. "You guys are the gretaest friends anyone could have," Kira complemnted. Mint did a small bow, "I know."

Retasu used the water to pull them out to sea. "Now, where is the sea monster located?" Mint asked Zakuro. "Slightly east of our position," Zakuro asked. retasu adjusted their course and they drifted into murky waters.

Broken pieces of driftwood and half boats floated on the water. Seaweed wapped itself around sinking fragments and pulled it down. A thick mist hung in the air. Ichigo craned her neck and looked around for any sign of life.

She heard splashing not to far away. "That way," Ichigo directed Retasu, pointing in the direction of the splashing. As the splashing became louder a blood curdling roar shot through the air. "KEEP GOING!" Ichigo shouted. Retasu and the rest of them covered their ears, but kept moving.

The mist thickened about them, as though someone didn't want them to find him . . . or her. Mint rose. "This has gone on long enough," She said and winds swirled about her. The mist parted like the red sea had for Moses and Ichigo watched in horror as a giant sea dragon reared its ugly head.

It was covered in black and dark colored scales of all sorts. Dark purple, midnight blue, deep forest green, dark yellow. A snake like tongue flicked out from between its lips and back in again. It coiled around two familiar figures. One had dark hair and was dressed in salt water stained garb and the other had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The girls recognized them as Masaya and Ryou.

The group heard noises behind them. Mint and Zakuro looked back to see the cyniclons coming after them, but not just any cyniclons. These were the ones who had attacked last time. They were rapidly approaching.

Mint tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, but Ichigo could not be turned away from the battle before her: Masaya and Ryou against the sea monster. Retasu's eyes were glued to the battle also. Kira heard Mint trying to get Ichigo to look away and did so herself. She saw the three cyniclons from two days ago looming ever closer. "Um, Ichigo? I-- I think you should look at this," Kira stuttered.

Ichigo couldn't tear herself away from the battle. The monster reared its ugly head and come down upon Ryou and Masaya. It coiled around them and pulled them underwater. "Ryou!" Retasu screamed. "Finless Porpoise Transformation-- Power up!" She shouted and glowed. Her legs bound themselves together, forming a tail fin. Her white antannae grew longer, touching the ground. Golden pearls adroened her neck and wrists. She dove into the water without a second thought. "Retasu!" Ichigo shouted and tried to grab the porpoise girl, but didn't suceed.

Mint and Kira pulled Ichigo back up from the side of the boat so she would fall overboard and drown. "Retasu!" Ichigo screamed and struggled to get free.

The cyniclon boat pulled up along side their own. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" Taruto smirked. "Looks likea bunch of old hags!" Ichigo rose in fury, "I am NOT an old hag!" she proclaimed. Kish waved his hand, "Yeah, yeah, whatever.Will you marry me?" he asked. His question caught Ichigo off guard. It took her a moment to respond. "NEVER!" she shouted and struggled to fight, but once more, Mint and Kira held her back. Zakuro stood, " What have you come here for?" she asked. "Nice of you to ask, we've come here for you six, although it appears that one of you has gone and drowned herself, so we'll settle for you five. Come along peacefully and we won't have to hurt you," Kish explained.

"We'll never go with you," Purin stated and glared at them. Taruto laughed. "Whatever. You're coming with us anyway." Purin stuck out her tongue at him.

Both boats were capsized as the monster reared up from the waters below. Kira surfaced in time to hear Retasu shout, "Ribbon, Retasu Rush!" The water came up and knocked the moneter over. Retasu dove in after it.

"Come on, we've gotta go help Retasu-san," Purin yelled and transformed. "Ribbon, Purin Inferno!" she shouted and set a fire column of death upon the sea monster. It growled in pain and turned its attention to Purin.

Mint and Zakuro transformed. "Ribbon, Mint Echo!" "Ribbon Zakuro's Pure!" The ninetail whip slashed at the monster while mint arrows shot at the head. "Ribbon, phoenix dragon attack!" The fire sword managed to shave a scale off the sea monster's forehead. A sea dragon with black scales rose up from the mists of the water. It had a bring red ring of scales around the head and a long red stripe down the length of it. Ryou's bright blue eyes shone from it.

Ryou, as a water dragon, slapped down on the sea monster, but the monster was many times his height and weight. Ichigo transformed and shouted, "Iromote Wildcat Transformation-- Power Up!" Ichigo glowed bright pink and a bright pink ring formed around her middle, then split in two and ran in opposite directions of the length of her body. The shells became larger and her battle suit lost its sleeves. The skirt ended three inches above her knees and poufed out. Her boots now ran up to her knees with dark pink laces binding them. The heart shaped weapon grew large pink wings and two small hearts floated below it. "Strawberry Tsubasa Surprise!" Ichigo shouted. The attack shot through the air and hit the dragon with a large pink explosion.

The sea monster let loose a curdling yell piercing and fearsome enough to make your hair stand on end and to curdle your blood. It flailed and dragged water dragon Ryou and Retasu down with it.

Ichigo, Kira, Zakuro, Mint, and Purin stood in shocked silence.

Kish waited for something to happening, like say, the monster resurfacing, but when that didn't happen, he smirked. "well, that's that. come onlong now like good hear-broken girls," he said and leaped down to carry them up to the boat. Kira turned on him. "No! Don't you see? We _have to go after them now._" Kish looked at her. "And just why?" he asked. "Because they weren't eaten, they can't be drowned and _because Retasu's our friend!_" "Well, sad to say I can't allow that," and so saying, Kish reached for Ichigo. Ichigo snarled at him and cried, "iromote Wildcat Deep Dea Transformation!" "That's a big mouthful for a little old hag," taruto commented.

Ichigo glowed and rose in the air. Her legs bound themselves into a longblack mermaid's tail iwth intricate pink designs swirling around it. Her fin was large and gauzy and looked much like black and pink butterfly wings. Paper thin webbing formed between her fingers and her magenta hair grew long and silky. her cat ears stayedout as did her tail, only the pink ribbon forming the bow changed to black seaweed, and the ribbon and bells on her neck vanished. She let of a shower of sparkles as she dove into the water after Retasu and Ryou.

"Blue Lorikeet Deep Sea Transformation!" "Golden Lion Tamarin Deep Sea Transformation!" "Grey Wolf Deep Sea Transformation!" Mint's legs bound themselves into a wonderful cerulean blue tail with sky blue designs on it. The flippers were large and gauzy, like Ichigo's, only they hheld transluscent images of feathers and blue lorikeets. Her top showered into scales and her double buns grew into odango with long blue ribbons holding them in. Purin's tail was a sparkling gold with sunny yellow designs and a large golden colored tail. Her golden locks also grew long and ssilky, with four braids on top, not below. They were tied off with sparkling gold river shells. Her monkey ears seemed to grow slightly larger as did her tail. Zakuro's tail was a purplish fuschia color with royal purple designs and her flipper was large and guazy with a royal purple color. Her wolf hears took on a purplish tint as did her tail. Her hair grew longer and wavy in the water. The four dove into the water after Ichigo in a shower of rainbow colored sparkles, leaving Kira on the boat.

"Aren't you going to transform?" Kish asked. Kira shook her head, "Nah. It is my duty to make sure you stay here and don't cause trouble for my charge and her friends." Kish looked rather surprised. "You're _charge_?" Kira nodded and shadows crossed her face as clouds covered the setting sun. "The phoenix is a very rare bird. The only one of its kind. Don't you think it's rather odd that it would be sister to an Iromote Wildcat?" Kira asked. Her fires seemed to grow darker with the setting sun. "But aren't you her sister, you old hag?" Taruto asked. "Old hag? I think not. And I've lived way too long for her too be my sister," Kira said darkly. "But you look about as old as Ichigo," Kish commented. Kira nodded. "Yes, that is true, but, however, I have the memories of all those before me. I memories from them that they didn't een remember. I remember everything from the time I came from my mother's womb and was bonded with the bird on celestial grounds, to what I'm doing right now. You better run while you can," she threatened and suddenly her fires grew fierce, nearly blinding the cyniclons. Kish's eyes widened in fear and Kira's shadow fell over them.


	4. Monster Hunting

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo led the girls down through the ocean, following the dragons tail. "Come on guys, we've gotta ago faster!" Ichigo said as the sea monster sped up. In one talon it held Retasu, in another it held Masaya, and in the third and fourth talonsit held sea dragon Ryou. It didn't bother to look behind itself to see if the four girls were following, it just _knew_.

Zakuro sped past Ichigo with Mint close behind. Ichigo strove to keep up, but found herself trailing behind Purin. She wondered slightly how this had happened. "Hurry up, Ichigo-san!" Purin called as she caught up with Mint and Zakuro. Ichigo's eyes glinted with determination as she sped up, leaving a trail of bubbles behind her. She caught up with Zakuro and passed her. She kept her eyes on the sea monster and urged her friends faster. "Come on guys, we're almost there."

Ichigo, Mint, Purin, and Zakuro caught up with the sea monster. But how would they stop it? Ichigo gave this problem some thought before coming up with a solution. "Okay guy, grab on to the scales!" Ichigo shouted and clung to a mahogany red and metallic brown. Ichigo braced herself and clenched ehr teeth as the sea monster writhed and spun dangerously around in the water, trying to shake off Ichigo and her friends.

Ichigo and co. hung on tightly as the sea monster zipped and curled through the waters. Deeper and deeper it went. The water gradually became darker until it was near black. The temperature dropped as the waters became darker and blacker. Ichigo shivered in spite of herself, but clung to the monster's metallic scale.

Mint steeled herself against the chilling waters and focused on holding on to her blue and silver scale. She aligned her body with that of the sea monster and let the water run by her at amazing speeds. Mint's lorikeet wings formed a warm protective barrier around her arms and her feathery tail flattened itself against her fish tail. Mint looked over at Zakuro, who had managed to get atop the monster.

Zakuro clung to two scales with her hands. One wasgold and fuschia and the other was gray and purple. She had the grim look of determination in her eyes. Her grey wolf ears were flattened against her head and her furry tail wavered in the water.

Purin was diligently climbing up the monster's scales to reach the head. Her ears were flattened against her head and her tail curled around her waist, warming her stomach.

Retasu struggled against the mighty monster's grip, but only succeeded in hurting herself. She looked ahead and saw that they were heading toward a bright ball of light. "ICHIGO!" She hollered.

Ichigo faintly heard her name being called. She looked down, only to see an abyss of black waters. She clamped her eyes shut and clenched her teeth. The call came again, louder this time. Ichigo opened her eyes and decided to go see who was calling her name. She listened hard and decided that her name was being called from underneath the monster. Ichigo slowly moved one hand to a lower scale. She secured her grip and moved the other hand. She braced herself against the steely cold water and reached for another lower one, and another, and another. Soon Ichigo was by what she deemed to be the belly of the monster.

The large glowing ball was looming ever closer. Retasu screamed Ichigo's name again. "ICHIGO!" The talon squeezed down on her, quickly silencing her scream. Retasu looked around frantically for any sign of Ichigo, although she knew that Ichigo probably couldn't hear her.

Thus, Retasu was justly surprised when Ichigo's pink head appeared in her line of vision, and with a mermaid's tail, no less. "Ichigo?" Retasu asked, bewildered.

Ichigo smiled her famous cat smiled and said, "That's me! But why were you screaming Retasu?" Ichigo asked. Retasu pointed a pale finger toward the glowing ball. It was no more that five feet away.

Purin had made it up to Zakuro she looked over the scaley head of the monster and saw the birght ball of light. "Um, Kuro-san?"

Four feet . . .

"What is that thing?" Ichigo asked.

Three feet. . .

"I don't know, but I think . . ." Zakuro looked up at the ball.

Two feet . . .

". . . we're going to go inside it," Retasu answered.

One foot . . .

"EEEEK!" The girls screeched. There was a blinding white explosion of white and an extreme rise in temperature as the monster propelled itself through.

Ichigo woke up in crystal waters. Sun shone gently through the water which gently refracted the light upon Ichigo. Ichigo rubbed her head and looked around.White sand was beneath her and patches of light colored seaweed dotted the sandy floor. As she looked around, her eyes rested upon Mint's form.

Mint's wings encompassed her body. Ichigo shook her friend by the shoulders, trying to wake her up. "Come on, Mint, wake up," Ichigo pleaded. Mint's feathery wings flexed themselves and Mint herself grumbled and rolled over. Ichigo stared and then glared at her blue mermaid friend. "Mint wake up!" Ichigo shouted. "huh-- wha !" Mint shouted suddenly awake. She rubbed her forehead. "I need my tea," she complained. Ichigo rolled her eyes and looked around for the others. Ichigo saw a purplish golden thing lying near the opposite side of the crystal lake and swam toward it with Mint.

"Onee-chan!" Mint cried and swam over to Zakuro's side. Purin woke up at Mint's cry and sprang up. "Hello ev'rybody!" Purin shouted and hugged Ichigo, knocking her over. At the loud sound of Purin's greeting, Zakuro opened her eyes. She looked around to make sure Purin would not leap on her and sat up. "Onee-chan!" Mint exclaimed joyfully. Zakuro smiled slightly as Mint hugged her.

"Hey, does anybody know where Retasu-san, Ryou-san, and Masaya-san are?" Purin suddenly asked. Ichigo, Mint, and Zakuro looked around. "Yeah, where _is _Retasu?" Mint wondered.

Ichigo poked her head above water and looked around. She gasped at what she saw. She was in a beautiful lush forest with leaves sparkling with dewdrops. Green vines hung down from gigantic trees and soft green grass covered the ground. Largepale blue and pale orage flowers bloomed near the bases of the trees and climbed up their trunks. Exotic light cerulean blossoms grew off of the vines.

Purin popped up behind her. She gasped at the beauty and immediately dove back into the water with a large splash and came back up with Mint and Zakuro. They looked with awe at the serene beauty around them.

Ichigo's cat ears twitched and she felt a slight nudge, from deep within her heart, to go up, out of the water and into the forest surrounding her. Ichigo was slightly surprised, but obeyed the calling. "Come on, guys!" she called and leaped gracefully out of the water. All four detransformed and stood as the regularly would.

"Which way are we going, Ichigo-san?" Purin asked. Ichigo walked around the clearing and felt a small nudge in a direction east of the crystal waters. "This way," Ichigo pointed and headed off in that direction. The rest of the mew mews followed her.

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Retasu rubbed her eyes and woke up to find herself in an underwater chamber. The waters were pure and seemed like crystal. She looked around, it seemed to be furnished like a room. The soft thing she had been sleeping on was a large soft bed. The blanket was of a substance she'd never seen before and shiny green shells decorated the room. The room had no doors and a large marble ceiling.

Retasu swam up to touch it, but, before she had made it very far, she hit a piece of glass. She felt along and saw that the entire chamber's ceiling was mad eout of ornately carved glass. She turned around to find adarkish greenpassage right above the vanity by her bed. Retasu peered into it and found that it wasn't green, but it was in fact mirrored. Millions of Retasu's looked back at the green mermaid and she smiled. She swam through the passage and came into an even large room with three passage ways, all mirrored, leading out of it.

She looked up to find that the ceiling here was also made of glass.

A haunting melody drifted though the air, Retasu looked toward the passage it was coming from and felt a calling to the person who was playing. She swam down the corridor and the music became louder, more haunting, calling her ever closer.

She burst into a dark room, much unlike al lthe others she had seen. The piano player had long dark hair and flowing metallic robes the color of the sea monster's scales. He played an instrument unlike anything Retasu had yet laid eyes upon or heard of. A large sea dragon hung upon the wall. One which was black with a red stripe circling around its head and snaking its way down its back. Down his back. Retasu's eyes widened and a gasp escaped her lips.

The man continued playing the beautiful haunting melody which had attracted Retasu so, and she felt her mind slipping away from her grasp. Retasu felt herself slipping into a deep, deep sleep.


	5. The Mansion

**Chapter 5**

Kira locked arms with Kish and Kish smirked at her. Golden eyes looked into firey hazel ones. Kish smirked and said, "Is this the best you can do?" Kira let out a battle cry and flung Kish into the water. There was a large splash and Kish jumped back out, floating above the sea. He dove at Kira saying, "Two can play at that!" and pushed her into the water. The large bubbles appeared in the water as she fell in. The water boiled and a thick warm mist surrounded the area. Kish signaled to Pai who brought out a large paper fan the color of ice.

"Windy Ice Fan!" Pai yelled. A torrent of ice and wind cleared the mist immediately surrounding them. Kira jumped out of the water, sputtering and coughing. "Dragon swords!" Kish shouted and attacked Kira while she was still weak. The phoenix girl easily dodge. "How un-chivalrous of you,not giving me a fair chance," Kira reprimanded sidestepping his next attack. "Hold still!" Kish shouted.

Kira flew up and around Kish, stopping on the other side. "Do you require any help, Kish?" Pai asked. "No, I can do this!" Kish replied. "Oh, how often I say that myself. You feel tethered down by the help you recieve and anger at what you cannot do. It only serves to make you strive to do better. In effect, this means that you are really fighting me and not just going easy on me," Kira told Kish as she repeatedly dodged his dragon swords. "You are losing, Kish. I am going to intervene," Pai informed Kish. "Fine!" Kish angrily shouted.

"Windy Ice Fan!" Pai shouted, waving his icey fan. Torrents of ice and wind bombarded Kira. She crossed her arms in front of her and a firey shield deflected the deadly ice shards. However, the impact forced her half into the water. "Windy Thunder Fan!" Pai immediately shouted. Another paper fan, seemingly made out of golden thunder appeared. Thunder boomed down from the sky and the golden bolts attacked the water. The wind forced Kira down into it. The water conducted the electricity and channeled it through Kira. She body arched from the shock and pain and she let out a scream, loud as a siren of the sea and as painful to the ear as daggers to the heart.

"Dragon Swords!" Kishshouted as the scream endedand attacked the wounded phoenix girl. She barely managed to dodged and let out another cry. But this one was far different, much much different. It was soft and loud at the same time. It seemed to be made of peace and discord of chaos and harmony. It was the sweetest lulluby and the most horrid racket. Kish, Pai, and Tart covered their large ears, not intending to let this scream in.

Kira's cry echoed off the mountain walls and sailed through the valley. It ricocheted off the cliffs and climbed up the hills. It was so loud and so fast that it reached the ears of two more mew mews. The cry was meant for these two and it brought them running at top speed.

--------------------------------

Ichigo had managed to lead the girls to a large marble mansion. The four looked upon the serenity of the house and the plantlife around it with awe. Ichigo was the first to speak. "Come on guys, we have to go find Masaya, I'm sure he's in there." Mint looked at her slyly. "So, you actually_ like_ Masaya, eh?" Ichigo blushed and covered by quickly walking up the many marble steps to the mansion and leading the way to the black and gold ebony doors.

She knocked and the doors opened with a loud _crrreeeaaaaaaak_. "Are you sure Masaya's in here?" Mint asked. A feeling in her heart nudged her forward, into the mansion. She nodded. "Yup. I'm positive." Mint shurgged and gestured for Purin and Zakuro. They entered after Ichigo.

A breeze ran through the deep forest green hallways. It ruffled the thick velvet curtains and waved the silk flowers. Ichigo shivered and wished she was wearing a long sleeved dress. "Come on guys, he's down that way," she said, pointing to a golden door. Mint, Purin, and Zakuro followed her through.

They went through door after door, through room after room, each more beautiful and unique in its own way. Finally, they entered a large room with ahigh marble cieling. Ichigo sensed something beneath her which was not carpet nor wood or tile. She looked down and found the floor was made of glass, and below that glass, was a space filled entirely with water. The room was decorated with green shells and a large green bed. Mint and Zakuro passed over it with little thought and Purin made a really big deal about it.

"Hey you guys! The floor is glass! Like glass bottomed boats! But where are the fishies? All the fishies are gone! Are the dead! The fishies are dead! Ichigo, Mint, Zakuro! We've got to find the dead fishies and fill it up with more fishies! Let's get gold fishies! Rainbow fishies! Tetra fishies! Come on!" Purin shouted all in one breath. "There should be a medal for saying that all in one breath," Mint mumbled.

"We can't find the fishies, we have to find Masaya," Ichigo told Purin and led them through a mirrored corridor. They came out in a chamber with many passages leading out, all with dark endings, as far as anyone could see. A feeling within the depths of Ichigo's heart pulled her toward the door on the opposite end of the room. She rushed over to it and flung open the door.

The pull in her heart grew stronger as she continued down it. Soon, she was walking quickly instead of walking. She opened another door and broke into a run. She burst through another door and suddenly she was flying toward the next room. wait .. . flying? _I can't fly! _Ichigo thought to herself.

"Ichigo, wait up!" Mint called. Ichigo's eyes widened in realization. "I-- I can't stop!" Ichigo yelled. Mint, Purin, and Zakuro sped up, Purin flipped over the rest of them and flipped ahead. She ran a few steps and jumped onto Ichigo's back. "EEEK!" Purin screeched and clung to the speeding form of Ichigo. Mint flapped her blue feathey wings and was soon up with Purin and Ichigo. The door loomed closer. "HEEELP!" Ichigo screamed. "Purin, jump!" Mint cried. Purin nodded and let go of Ichigo and crashed into Mint, who, from the force of it, crashed into Zakuro, who had finally caught up. "EEEEE!" Ichigo screeched and covered her face with her arms as she broke through the doors.

They opened easily at her touch and Ichigo put her arms down, only to see a large wall covered in dragon scales the size and color of the sea monster. Ichigo crashed into the bed and bounced up and landed back down on it. "Ichigo!" Zakuro, Mint, and Purin shouted, running in. "Are you okay, Ichigo? Are you dead? Ichigo's dead!" Purin wailed. Ichigo quickly sat up. "I am not dead! I'm alive!" Ichigo shouted. Mint looked around and finally asked, "Where's Masaya?"

Ichigo looked around. Masaya was no where to be seen. She approached the doors, but they closed quickly with a loud _BANG!_ "Eep! We're locked in!" Ichigo announced trying the door knobs. Mint and Purin rushed to the doors, twisting and pulling the gold knobs with all their might. Zakuro stood quietly in the back, as though in a reverie. Mint turned to Zakuro saying, "Onee-sama, why aren't you helping?"

Zakuro slowly looked up and said, "This place seems familiar, really familiar." Purin and Ichigo stopped pulling. "What do you mean by 'this place seems familiar' Zakuro-onee-sama?" Mint asked. "yeah, haven't you been in the village your whole life?" Purin asked. Zakuro shook her head, "It's nothing, I probably just imagined it," Zakuro said, waving them away. "Come _on _Zakuro, tell us! Pleeeease?" Ichig begged. Zakuro grumbled and turned away.

Suddenly, and without warning, the doors were flung open and a boy was roughly thrown inside on the bed. Ichigo turned her attention to him. Dark hair, fair-ish skin . . . Ichigo ran up to him. "Masaya!" She cried and hugged him. Then she quickly let go, blushing. Masaya grabbed her wrist. "It's okay, Ichigo," said he and fell unconcious.

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Retasu woke up in her human form. Soft silk was nestled about her and fluffy pillows lay beneath her head. Retasu yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked about and found that the room decor was a deep forest green, themed with shells and mermaids. Retasu looked closer at them and gasped. The mermaids had long flowing sea green hair, much like her own, and had the same tail. She peered closer at the face of one and discovered that it was a likeness of her own.

The door slowly _creeeaaaaked _open and Retasu jumped and spun around. No one was there. "H-- hello?" Retasu asked. Footsteps sounded, but no one appeared. "C-- could you p--please revealed y--yourself t--to me?" Retasu stumbled over the words. Fear slowly coiled its deadly tendrils around her heart. The footsteps came closer.

Retasu was suddenly hit with the realization what she wasn't wearing any clothes. She jumped back into the bed and pulled the covers up around her. The footsteps promptly turned toward the bed. A deep voice floated down through the air from somewhere above her. Retasu assumed it belonged to the footsteps.

"Hello, Retasu-chan," it greeted her. _Retasu- _chan_? Do I know him?_ Retasu thought. "You may not remember me, however, I am happy to announce that I remember _you_." Retasu's heart raced and she clutched the covers harder. How could she know this . . . this . . . this man she could not even see? The voice did not seem familiar from anywhere at all. She shook her head. "I do not know you, sir," she replied unfalteringly. There was a strange noise after Retasu's comment. Retasu herself could've sworn it sounded something like a chuckle.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you the palace is at your command for now. You can find me when you want to . . ." and Retasu felt his presence vanish like a wandering breeze. She looked for her clothes. They were no where to be found. Niether was Ryou, for that matter. She spotted a white wardrobe decorated with emeralds. Retasu wrappe dthe sheet around her body and walked up to it. Her pale hand ran along the wood, which seemed, soft. She opened the door and gasped. Inside were dresses of great beauty, ballgowns, plain dresses, everything.

She pulled out a loose emerald green dress. It sparkled with sand-sized diamonds and gold silk bound it to her shoulders. Golden silk also trimmed the bottomof her dress, giving a mermaid appearance. She twirled around and looked in the mirror hung up on the inside of the wardrobe. She smiled at herself and sat down at the vanity. The green cushion was soft and velvety. She picked up the ivory brush and ran it through her long green locks. Her hair was smoothe and soft and shone with an emerald glow when she was done.

She stood and went to her door, debating upon whether to go out. The invisible man had saidit was okay for her to do this. Ah, well, his rules. Retasu pulled open the door and looked around.


	6. Invisible Man

**Chapter 6**

Kish flew at Kira again, the phoenix girl easily dodged and parried with an attack of her own. "Well, it seems as though neither of us easily tires," Kira commented. "Ah, but you are losing energy faster than I," Kish daunted as he attacked once more with his swords. "Well, if you insist on using swords, then it can't hurt if I use sais," Kira commented. She threw herself a distance from Kish and held out her hands. They glowed a bright fiery orange and a pair of three pronged fire sais took shape in her hands. "Now this is more like it," Kish said and attacked once more shouting, "Dragon Swords!" Kira met his attack with her sais and the two were locked body to body. Kira twisted and ducked under in one smooth move and Kish whirled around, slashing with his swords. Kira was caught unprepared. She took a blow and fell back. Two cuts marred her otherwise perfect skin, one on each of her arms. Kira bit her tongue and forced herself not to scream. The cyniclons braced for the phoenix girl's scream. She sunk to the ground, holding her arms where the cuts were. The blood coming from Kira's arms turned to fire. "Aren't you going to scream?" Taruto taunted. Kish's eyes widened and Kira relinquished herself to the pain. The fire blood of the phoenix girl burned up to the wound. It healed the deep cuts and Kira clenched her fists. She slowly stood and said, "It'll take more than that to bring me down."

"Is that a challenge, old hag?" Taruto asked. Kish smirked and replied, "Sounds like one to me." Kish took a step back and Pai and Taruto lined up in a triangular formation. Kira watched them warily and took a defensive stance. The purple haired cyniclon raised the ice fan. "Windy Ice Fan!" Pai called and swung down in the direction of Kira. Kira made a dart to the right. A dark green gem appeared in Taruto's hand and he raised it up saying, "Growing Earth Gem!" Seaweed rose up from the rumbling waters below. Kira barely managed to dodged by making a quickly dodge to the left, which put her back in front of the ice attack. Kira leapt up, but not fast enough. The attack encased her legs from the knees down in ice. She clenched her fists and the part of her which wasn't in ice glowed fiery red. The ice began to melt, but not quickly enough for Kira. Taruto swung his gem to the right and the seaweed lunged toward Kira. She flapped her wings, tricking Taruto into thinking she would fly up. He raised the gem again, forming a bird's cage with no bottom. Kira sunk below the waves and used her wings to propel her underneath the cyniclons of the north.

The water bubbled and Kira shot out of the water, fire following her. The cyniclons quickly scattered and re-grouped a few feet away from Kira. Taruto movd his gem and the seaweed attacked Kira. She dodged its first lunge and used it as a step to go up. She jumped upon it and flew into the air. The seaweed grew higher and Kira flew through it, taking care not to get caught. She exited the giant seaweed plant and flew over Taruto's head, landing behind him. Taruto motioned for the seaweed to go after Kira, realizing too late that he would also be caught. Kish teleported to the other side of the seaweed, forseeing Kira's move. Kira vaulted over the giant green plant and Taruto was captured. He growled in discontentment and the gem glowed red. The seaweed let go of him and shrunk to half size.

The phoenix girl landed on the dock and came face to face with Kish. He kicked her feet out from under her and she feel hard ont he ground. Kish pushed her back with his hands and pinned her to the ground. Kira looked into Kish's eyes, showing no fear in them. The cyniclon did not retreat. Instead he pulled out one of his swords. Kira still showed no signs of being afraid although her heart pounded with fear from the oncoming doom. Taruto and Pai gathered on either side of Kish. As he held the dragon sword above Kira, two shadows crossed the sun. "I command you to stop!" Cried a new voice. The three looked up to see who it was. Kira sighed in relief, they had arrived.

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Ichigo tenderly looked down at the fallen Masaya. She laid him out properly ont he bed and sat down next to him on it. Zakuro, Purin, and Minto stood near by, silently watching Ichigo. The pink haired girl silently sat by her love and watched him sleep. Masaya chest slowly rose up and down, and Ichigo knew he had not died. He was only asleep, it was nothing serious. Ichigo did not worry that he was sleeping, but she worried that he was wounded. She worried about his mistreatment. But most of all, what would happen to her and her friends now that they were in this palace? Surely it was not safe if Masaya looked like this.

Ichigo's brow furrowed. How had Masaya gotten his wounds? Minto placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and said, "Come on, Ichigo, we've got to find a way out." Ichigo shook her head. "The door's locked," she replied. "This would lead us to believe that the owner knows we're here. The question is not, 'how do we get out?', but 'what does he plan to do with us?'. Look at Masaya. Is that what we want to end up like?" Zakuro asked. The four mews thought about what Zakuro had said. "Once we get out, we need to find Retasu and Ryou," Ichigo finally said. The rest agreed with her.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. "I'm bored," Purin finally complained. Minto sat quietly on the bed, drinking her afternoon tea. "Why are you drinking tea right now?" Ichigo asked Minto. "Because, even though we are underwater, it has been many hours since breakfast. I should think all of you would know it's tea time. Would you like to join me?" Minto invited. The rest of the girls looked at each other. "Well, I am kind of hungry," Ichigo admitted. "Yay! Tea time!" Purin shouted. "Quiet, Purin! You'll wake Masaya," Ichigo shushed the small girl. Purin nodded and sat down on the bed next to Ichigo. "I suppose I too shall have some tea," Zakuro stated and sat down on the other side of the tea set. Minto poured the tea into three more china cups and handed them to the girls. The girls silently began to drink the midmorning repast.

Footsteps approached the door and Ichigo and Purin stopped drinking their tea. As the footsteps became louder, they set their tea cups on their saucers and the saucers on the china tray. Minto paused looking at the door. Zakuro took a small sip. The door began to open. Ichigo and Purin stood and readied themselves. The doors suddenly flew open, but no one was there. Footsteps echoedaround the room, as though observing the four mew mew. They paused near Minto and Zakuro. The two pale girls sipped their tea and ignored him. He walked in front of Ichigo and Purin. Ichigo warily looked at him and Purin couldn't tell if he was there or not. The footsteps began moving again and Purin walked up to them and they paused.

"Are you an invisible man? Or are you just some mind trick, na no da?" Purin asked. "I am an invisible man, as you say," a deep booming voice answered. Minto and Zakuro looked over at Purin and the invisible man. Ichigo kept her eyes on her companion and the invisible one. "Why are you invisible, na no da?" Purin asked. "I find that, when walking around the house, this is easier. All my servants are invisible too," the voice said informed Purin. "So why is he here, na no da?" Purin asked, pointing to Masaya. "On one of my excursions to the upper world, he threw a painfully sharp object at me and so I fought him and then ran away, accidentally bringing him here. There were also some other people on me, I don't know what happened to them," The voice replied. Ichigo, Minto, and Zakuro looked at each other. _Wow, that sounds like what happened to us_, Ichigo thought. _Why are we talking to an invisible man dragon! _Minto wondered. _Okay, all we need to do is defeat this guy, then we're home free! _Zakuro decided. "So then why is he all bruised, na no da?" Purin asked.

The voice sighed. "That is because when he woke up he began destroying everything and so I had to knock him unconcious, but I couldn't figure out where to hit him, so I just let my servant figure it out and return him," the voice said. "But you're human, you should know where to hit him," Ichigo pointed out. "Oh, and where might that be?" the voice asked. "Somewhere on the top of the head," Ichigo said. "Ah, thank you my dear," said he. A clapping sound resounded through the room and four sword hilts dropped upon their little colored heads. The four girls toppled down into a world of desolate blackness.

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Retasu wandered through the endless corridors, looking about for signs of life or at least something with which to amuse herself. Nothing had been found so far. Every now and then she would wander back to her room and go in a different direction. She walked on a velvet carpet. Whoever owned this house was certainly ver rich. The doors were all alike in almost every way. They were made of different sustances to match the hallways and corridors, but they were the same design. The green haired girl wandered down the hallways, occasionally looking into the rooms. The rooms she looked in always appeared to be bedrooms. Retasu paused at a pair of mahogany doors. Would she go in? She wondered. She touched the knob and looked in. A sleeping boy was in the canopy bed.

Retasu walked up to him and gasped. It was Masaya! Ichigo would be pleased to see him. If, she found Ichigo.Masaya stirred in his sleep and Retasu silently left the room. She gently closed the door behind her and marked the place in her memory. Retasu wandered on down the halls, not daring to go up or down any staircases, for fear she would lose her way. At least if she was on one floor she could always find her room.

Retasu walked down one hallway after another and failed to find her green room. She looked carefully down the hallway to see if there was any chance of finding her room. Was this punishment for finding Masaya? Retasu sank to her knees near the end of one corridor. Was this an endless maze? Retasu did not know, and she _really _did not want to find out. However, she did want to get back to her room, so, the green haired girl stood once more. She looked around and spotted a door she had not seen. It wasmostly hidden behind some plants.

She touched the knob and a cold chill ran down her spine. She twisted the iron handle. It was unlike the others. She twisted the knob, and, unlike every other door, this was locked. She tried the knob again and heard a rustling inside. Then there was a large thumping and a dragon roared. Retasu heard steps scoming toward the doorand shehid behind a potted tree. The black iron door opened and the invisible presence that had visited her earlier huffed out of the room. Retasu looked at the closing door and wished she had a rock or key or something, but she had neither. The door was very nearly closed when her pale hand shot out and slowed the momentum and finally stopped the door a hair's breadth from from the frame. Retasu opened it slowly and peeked in, preparing herself for something gruesome. She walked in and looked around. The room was furnished in black and red. Then, she looked on the bed and gasped.


	7. Trapped

**Chapter 7**

Two girls floated above the trio of aliens and Kira. The first had long blonde hair, golden as the sun. She wore a creamy white dress and white boots with matching gloves. In her hands she held a wand with a bunny head on the top whose base was surrounded by berries. Two slender white rabbit ears were on the top of her head and a black cat tail twitched agitatedly behind her. Fluffy white angel wings let her hover in the air. Piercing magenta red eyes glared at Kish. The second girl had short chocolate brown hair. Her outfit was red and white, like an apple. She held an apple shaped maraca in each hand. Metallic red feathered wings bristled in the wind. Menacing brown eyes bored into the cyniclons. "For messing with our friend today," The girl in the red started. "We shall make you pay!" The blonde girl finished.

They leaped up and somersaulted in the air, landing behind Pai and Taruto. "I am Mew Berry," The girl in white said. "And I am Mew Ringo!" The apple girl introduced herself. "And we are the Angel Mews of the West!" Berry finished. Taruto smiled. "And what're you gonna do, you old hags?" Taruto asked. Berry smiled and raised her wand. "Ribbon, Loveberry Check!" The wand glowed brightly and the cyniclons covered their eyes and a powerful white ribbon of magic was unleashed upon them. The trio was blasted into the water with a large splash. They teleported into the air above the sea. Kish wiped the water from his golden eyes and said, "Finally, this is getting good!"

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Ichigo woke up to a burst of strawberry pink. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked around. A rich silk dress lay across the back of a pink and white chair. Ichigo stepped out of bed and instantly felt a wave of cold. She looked down at herself and screamed. Her cat ears popped out and she dove back into the bed and wrapped the sheet around herself. She pouted and glared and finally got over it.

Ichigo stepped out of the bed and walked over to the dress, which she quickly put on. It fit her perfectly, as though it was custom tailored just to fit her. Ichigo twirled around and watched the dress. It shone in the light and Ichigo looked up. The ceiling was high and ornately carved. But there was a large sheen from the light, as though there was a layer of glass between her and it. But that couldn't be.

Ichigo looked around for a door, but found none. She looked behind a large pink wardrobe and she moved the vanity away from the wall. Ichigo bent over and look under the bed, but all she found was a clean floor. Strange . . . under the bed was always dusty. Oh well. Ichigo pounded on the walls and shouted, hoping someone would rescue her. No one came.

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Minto rolled over in the covers and felt as though she was in heaven. Warm soft blankets covered her and fluffy pillows were beneath her head. She slept easily upon a firm mattress. Minto rolled over again and decided to wake up. She rubbed her large blue eyes with her pale hands and immediately noticed she was naked. She looked around, and upon finding no one in the room, relaxed. Then she heard a muffled scream and jumped.

The blue haired girl looked around the room, trying to decide where the scream had come from, but couldn't decide. She spotted a blue dress with black lace draped across a padded blue chair. Minto assumed it was for her and admired it. She ran her fingers across the soft, but cool material before putting it on. It was form-fitting and comfortable. She looked at herself in the vanity mirror and frowned. Minto opened the first drawer on the vanity and found what she was looking for: a hairbrush.

The blue haired girl let her hair loose. It spilled in waves down to the small of her back. She brushed through her blue black hair until it was silky smooth. Then she twisted her hair back into the bao and pinned them up. She opened the drawer to put the brush away and found a black silk rose for her hair. Minto placed the brush in the drawer and pinned up the rose. She stood, pleased with her appearance.

Minto then looked around for a door, upon finding none in plain sight, she proceeded to look behind the vanity, various mint plants and small indoor trees. Now she knew why someone had screamed.

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Purin woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and the first thing in her golden yellow eyes was a sunny yellow Chinese dress. She bounced out of bed and paused. She shook her head and said, "Someone's been very naughty. Ichigo-chan won't like this one bit, na no da." Then she grabbed the dress and put it on.

Purin sat down in the yellow vanity chair and opened the first drawer of the vanity. She pulled out a gold hairbrush and ran through her hair a few times before putting it back and shutting the drawer. She opened the second one and found two golden bracelets. Purin clapped and held the bracelets up so they sparkled in the light before putting them on. She closed that drawer an opened the next. It contained a number of things, one of which was a crown of yellow ribbons and small golden flowers. "Ooh, pretty, na no da!" Purin cried and put it on her head. She looked at herself in the mirror. "Purin looks so pretty, na no da!" She cried and clapped. She then opened the next drawer and, upon finding it empty, opened all the other drawers. None of them had anything in them.

Purin looked around for a door. "Where's the door, na no da?" She asked. She walked all around the room. "There's no door for Purin, na no da," The small girl said. "Oh well, Purin can jump out, na no da!" She said and climbed up on the bed. She bounced twice, testing the fluffy bed. She smiled and jumped hard. She bounced up and crashed against something hard. She rubbed her head and looked at the ceiling. The ceiling was cracking. "Eeek! I broke the ceiling, na no da!" She cried. Then she hit her head against it again, quite by accident, and glass shattered around her. "Hey! I didn't break the ceiling! Someone was keeping me in a cage! Like an animal, na no da!" Purin shouted, distressed. Then she shrugged and clambered back onto the bed.

"Oh well, now I can jump out!" Purin said. She made it out with one hard jump. She somersaulted onto the hard glass floor and stood. She looked around at the large room. It looked like a ball room, only with a gaping hole where Purin had escaped. She heard muffled shouting and looked down. "Hey, there's Ichigo-chan, na no da!" Purin exclaimed. They she looked to the left and saw another one of her friends. "And Minto-chan!" Purin exclaimed exitedly. Then a sparkling purple hairbrush burst through the glass next to Purin. Shards flew up, then down as a flash of purple jumped out of the hole. "Zakuro-chan, na no da!" Purin cried and hugged the older girl as she landed. "Let go, Purin, or else I might fall back in," Zakuro said. Purin nodded and let go.

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Retasu gasped. Before her lay her wounded water dragon. The emerald haired girl rushed up to his bedside. Blood oozed from cuts on his metallic red and black scales. He glowed and shrank into his human form. "Ryou," Retasu gasped. "What has he done to you?" Retasu asked, on the verge of tears. She held his wrist, trying to determine if he was alive. She sighed with relief and looked at Ryou again. She pushed his blonde bangs away from his face and lovingly looked upon him. She wished she had a basin of water and a cloth to clean his cuts.

Retasu looked around and was surprised when she found what she had asked for on the floor next to her. The emerald haired girl smiled and dipped the cloth in the water. "This might sting a little," She quietly told Ryou's body. Retasu started with the cuts on his arms. She cleaned away the blood and cleaned the cut itself. She walked around to the other side of the bed and started on his other arm. She lifted his arm and cleaned the cuts. She gingerly held his palm and found a clean spot on her cloth. A cut had been slashed across his palm. She wet the cloth and rung it out. Retasu wiped away the excess blood and then pressed the cloth to the cut itself. She heard a sharp intake of breath and looked over at Ryou. He had not yet opened his eyes. Retasu sighed and put her cloth down. She wished for a new basin and cloth.

Retasu moved down to his legs and cleaned them. She wished for another basin and cloth and it was granted to her. She moved back up and looked at his torso, scanning for slashes on his stomach or heart. She found a long gnash across his chest and immediately began to clean that. She dipped her new cloth in the basin of fresh water and rung it out. Retasu gingerly wiped away the blood around the gnash. She dipped and wrung the rag again before gently pressing it onto the gnash and slowly cleaning it. She heard and felt another sharp intake of breath. "R- Ryou? Are you awake? It's me, Retasu," She said. "W- wait. If you are, don't answer, please. You need to save your strength and heal," Retasu said after a second of thought. The emerald haired girl felt Ryou's body relax as she talked. She finished cleaning the gnash and left the cloth in the basin.

Retasu looked for more cuts on his body, but found only a scratch o his cheek. She delicately dabbed the scratch and sighed. "Oh, Ryou, What is he doing to you?" She softly lamented. Retasu turned away and wished the bowl and basin would vanish, which they did. She turned back for one more look at Ryou before she left. She found his electric blue eyes open a crack and looking at her. She smiled and knelt by his bedside. He gave her a small smile in return and closed his eyes. "Ryou, I'll be back again," Retasu said and stood. She paused before bending over and lightly pressing her lips against his forehead. Then she smiled and quietly left.


	8. Freedom!

**Chapter 8**

A large fan appeared in Pai's hands. "Windy Thunder Fan!" He shouted. Thunder boomed around them and thick bursts of golden lightening gathered at the fan. Then, they shot out toward Berry and Ringo. The two separated but the attack split and went after them. Berry shot down near the water and dove beneath it. As the thunder made contact she leaped up. The sea lit up with a gold color and static filled the air. Ringo dove toward the seaside cliff, the thunder on her tail. She waited until the last possible moment, then dove skyward. The thunder crashed into the cliff with a loud rumble. Boulders and rocks and huge chunks of the cliff fell onto the beach. Salty sea water lapped the rocks. "Hah, is that all you can do?" Ringo taunted the purple haired alien. He growled at them. "Did you just growl at me?" Berry asked, shaking the water from her wings. Ringo giggled and bounced away, dodging small bursts of lightening coming up from the sea. "Lightening comes up from the roaring sea, his master directs it and can't catch me!" Ringo giggled and summersaulted again, dodging another small bolt of sea lightening. Berry zoned in on Taruto. "And what do you do?" She asked. Taruto held up a glowing green gem. "Growing Earth Gem!" He shouted. Seaweed once more rose up from the depths of the ocean. It wriggled in the air, then went after Berry. It coiled around her waist and she flapped her wings, barely managing to get free. She hovered above them, and raised her wand. The seaweed suddenly grew higher and a piece wrapped around her mouth before she could say anything. Another took advantage of her surprise and pinned her arms to her sides.

"Mew Berry!" Kira shouted and ran to help her friend. Kish blocked the way. "Not until you beat me," He said with a dangerous smile. He attacked with his dragon swords and Kira warded off the attack with her dual sais. She struck at Kish, starting a small fire on his sleeve. He brushed it off with one hand and struck with another. Kira parried and attacked, forcing Kish a step back. Then Kish did a series of strikes, forcing Kira back farther than she had pushed him. She managed to lock the swords. Fire againts metal. "Time for a quick lession," Kira commented. "And what would that be?" Kish asked. "Do you know what happens when metal touches fire for a long while?" Kira asked. Kish looked down at his sword, which had turned white hot. The hotness seeped through to the hilts and his hands began to quickly heat up. He dropped the swords in surprise. Kira shot away from him toward Berry. The white angel mew was in a struggle against the seaweed. She was quickly tiring and sea weed was getting to her. Kira held up her sais and shouted, "Ribbon Phoenix Crest!" A turmoilt of fire shot out. The seaweed turned a crisp black and Berry flew out of the fires. "You stupid hag! You're not supposed to do that!" Taruto yelled from a safe distance. Kira and Berry turned on him. Berry held up her wand, "Ribbon, Loveberry Check!" She shouted. A white burst of ribon like energy shot toward the alien. It hit him sqarely and he was driven down to the beach.

Kish's eyes lit with anger and he attacked in a barrage of strikes, each one causing sparks to emit. Kira was forced back over the water. She blocked his crazily angled strikes and soon found herself pinned just above the water. "I wonder how long it takes to drown a phoenix?" Kish asked out loud. Kira's eyes widened in fear. Kish pushed harder, his dragon swords against her pheonix sais. Kira's arms trembled, then weakened. Kish forced her beneath the surface of the sea. Kira held her breath and wondered how long she could do this. "Mew Kira!" Berry and Ringo shouted. The apple mew rushed to get to Kira, to attack Kish. Pai sent a thick bolt of lightening from the sea at Ringo and it hit her. Her body arched in pain and she screamed. It wasn't as loud or as piercing as Kira's by a long shot, but it hurt the alien to listen to her all the same. She fell in to the water and Berry skimmed the surface of the water to catch her friend. The white mew caught Ringo's wrist as she sank beneat the water. Berry brought Ringo to the shore and looked over at Kira. Kish looked down at Kira's head through the water. Her eyes widened, then closed. Bubbles escaped from her mouth and Kish lessened the pressure, content to let the fire girl sink to the depths of the ocean. But, quite suddenly, her booted legs wrapped around him and pulled him under. Kira used Kish's body to fling herself out of the water while dragging Kish under. She landed on the boardwalk and took deep gasping breaths.

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Ichigo sat desolately in her enclosed room. She sighed and looked around, once again searching for a door, for a window. Any way out of the room. She banged her hands against the wall, hoping to find a hollow place or break through. She kicked the wall and beat it. "LET ME OUT!" She shouted again and again. Then, quite suddenly, the bodice of her dress constricted. She looked down and found an ever tightening lace around it. She gasped for air and slumped onto the floor, unconcious. The lace quickly unwound itself and vanished into the vanity drawer.

------------------------------

Minto looked up as she heard a crash. She gazed at it, and caught a reflection of herself. Her eyes widened. "It can't be," She whispered. She pulled the vanity chair out and stood upon it. She reached up, expecting to feel nothing. The tips of her fingers barely touched the glass of the ceiling. Minto heard another crash, then she saw a flash of yellow dart across. "Purin," She said aloud. She looked around and opened the vanity drawers. She pulled out the hairbrush she had been using earlier. Minto backed away from the vanity and raised the brush. She took aim and threw it with all her might. The bodice of her dress constricted and she gasped for breath. There was a loud crash and the hairbrush stuck through the glass, then dropped after a few seconds. Minto took faltering steps toward the hairbrush, fighting for the air. She was going to get out. She picked up the hairbrush and the bodice constricted tighter. She threw the hairbrush again and the weak tap was all the glass needed to break. Minto climbed atop the bed and jumped up. Her head came above the glass and she spotted Purin and Zakuro. She fought for air and bounced up again. Her waist reached above and the dress let loose, as it had been when she had put it on, but as soon as she dropped into the room again, the dress constricted. Minto smiled. "I know your secret," She gasped in a voice lighter than air. She took one last jump and landed on the glass floor by Purin and Zakuro. She took in the air gratefully.

"Minto-san, na no da!" Purin cried and flew at the blue girl, swamping her in a hug. "Purin, please," Minto said. Purin nodded and gave Minto some breathing room. "What happened?" Zakuro asked sharply. "The dress . . . it constricted, denying me air," Minto explained. Zakuro nodded. "It did that to me as I tried to break out," She commented. Purin looked at them strangely. "None of that happened to Purin, na no da," Purin said. "Then you must've gotten out quite by accident," Minto responded. Purin shrugged. Minto looked around. "Where's Ichigo?"

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Retasu hurried down the hall ways and corridors. She was fearful of getting caught, now that she knew what the invisible man could do. Her throat felt dry and she said, "I wish for a glass of water." Immediatly a glass of water floated in front of her. She took it gratefully and drank. Retasu licked her lips and looked around. She saw a potted fern on a tall skinny table and a thick velvet curtain. She went over to it and peeked out. Retasu gasped. The sun was setting. "I wish I was in my room," She frantically said. It was almost time for dinner and she didn't want to be late for whatever had been planned for it. She didn't want to displease the invisible host. Invisible hands picked her up and carried her down the corridors and hallways, twisting left and right and sometimes opening doors and going through rooms which eventually led to other hallways and corridors. In a few minutes, Retasu was back in her room.

And not a moment too soon: invisible footsteps echoed down the hall toward her room. The door opened gently and the footsteps circled around. "Hello?" Retasu half asked, half greeted the invisible man. "Hello, Retasu," He said in a deep voice. Then his voice stopped and she couldn't tell where he was. "I have a gift for you," The voice said from beside her. Retasu jumped, startled at finding him so near. She thought she could sense his presence. The doors opened wider and a giant stuffed teddy bear floated through. It slowly turned around so she could see the face. She gasped, the bear itself, had no face. Instead, was the face of Masaya. "What?" She gasped. "This is yours, my dear. All yours, are you quite sure you don't remember me?" The voice asked. Retasu closed her eyes. An image of a bear, long ago floated into her mind's eye. The giver's hands were fair, like her own skin, but stronger. Retasu shook her head. "I am not sure," She replied. "I understand. Will you dine with me?" The voice asked. Retasu nodded. "I suppose so."


	9. The Dining Room

**Chapter 9**

Berry and Ringo rushed over to Kira as Kish rose sputtering from the water. His piercing yellow eyes glared with hatred at Kira. "You're no guardian angel," he said angrily. Kira closed her eyes and tried not to tremble as she rose from where she was sitting. "Really?" She asked, wincing as pain shot up her legs. Kish nodded and the salty water fell from his head to the wooden platform. Pai and Taruto turned to attack Kira as she took a few shaky steps toward Kish. Berry and Ringo stood and raised their weapons to fend off whatever attacks Pai and Taruto would issue, but Kira said, "Stand down. Let them try." Ringo and Berry stood back, but watched the cyniclon duo suspiciously.

"After we are done here, I am going down to find my charge," Kira said as she stood up straighter, regaining some of her strength. "You shall not defeat me," Kish growled with a menacing look in his golden eyes. "Oh, I will. But not in the way you think. I'm going to end this fight with just one action," Kira said with a frighteningly calm face as she walked toward Kish until she was only a foot away. Kish's heart pounded faster and faster and he held up his swords threateningly. "Whatever you do to me you shall pay dearly for," He warned with a gleam in his eye. "Kish, are you familiar with the term 'love'?" Kira asked. "What does that have to do with anything?" Kish asked suspiciously as he tightened his grip on the swords. Kira spread her phoenix wings as she leaned in toward him. Kish looked into her eyes and saw not a cold calculation going on or pure hatred longing for vengeance, but pure mercy and something else. Kish couldn't identify it, and didn't have time to . . .

* * *

Ichigo felt unimaginable bliss as she returned to consciousness, that is, minus the throbbing headache she now had from her near encounter with death. She sat up and found that she was still in the sparkling party dress she'd changed into before. She sat up, but invisible hands pushed her back down. Ichigo was actually grateful on some low level, but prominently on her mind was getting out and finding Retasu and the others. Especially Masaya. _Masaya, where are you? _

Ichigo's thought process halted as she heard the door creak open. Who could it be? Ichigo prayed it wasn't the invisible madman who'd knocked her out. "Hello, pink one." _No such luck_, Ichigo thought. She tried to act as though she was still asleep. "I know you're not asleep. I just saw you move," His voice said. Ichigo glared at him. "I thought as much," The voice chuckled. Then she heard a sound as though he was clearing his throat.

"Down to business. I have a marriage planned, and I need your advice on it." Ichigo's eyes widened. A marriage? To whom? Wait, was he going to wed one of the Mew Mew? "Who're you wedding and why do you need my advice?" Ichigo asked suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes. "Who I'm going to wed shall remain a secret until I know her answer. I'm also going to wed you to your . . . boyfriend, if you're good and you help me," The voice answered. _Well, at least he isn't going to force that unlucky girl to marry him_, Ichigo's thoughts sighed. "My boyfriend? You mean Masaya?" She asked. "Yes, that person on the bed you were sitting next to," The voice said, but Ichigo detected and undertone which said, "No, duh." Marry Masaya? No way. _Maybe I do miss him, but just a little bit. Because . . . . he's always been there and it's a change. Yeah. That's it._ Ichigo thought.

"No that's not it," The voice boomed. Ichigo looked up at him in surprise, or where she thought he was. "But maybe I should let you find that out on your own," The voice continued. "At any rate, you must proceed to help me plan a double wedding. If you do not marry, that is your choice, but I wish to marry and I have confidence that she will agree." Ichigo nodded. "I suppose. You're not going to kill me or anything are you?" She asked. "No, I will not kill you or your pitiful friends. Yes, I will allow them to be present at the wedding," The voice said monotonously as Ichigo's mind came up with questions to ask and conditions to request. "Okay," Ichigo said. "You got yourself a deal." She felt a slight pressure on her head, as though someone was patting her. "Good girl, I knew you would." Ichigo watched the door open and close. She listened to the footsteps fade away and thought, _Lord, what have I gotten myself into_.

* * *

Minto, Purin, and Zakuro looked around. "I'm not sure, na no da," Purin said as she ran around, looking at the little glass boxes that made up the floor. "Well, whoever's keeping us here is sure going to be on the lookout," Zakuro commented, eyeing the shards of glass littering the floor and the spider webs where the glass had cracked, but not broken. Minto nodded. "Then we'd better get a move on. Spread out, we've got to find Ichigo," Minto ordered, taking control. Zakuro and Purin nodded and took off, scanning the glass floor for the pink one. 

The girls hadn't been searching for long when Purin shouted out, "I FOUND HER!!!" Zakuro and Minto bounded over as fast as their legs would carry them. When they arrived Purin added, "Well, sort of, na no da." Minto and Zakuro looked down. There was Ichigo's mew mew uniform, the bed was crumpled as though someone had been there at one point, but there was no Ichigo. "Look, down there," Minto said, pointing to the wall of the room. A sparkling pink shoe vanished through the wall. The trio looked over the wall, but saw nothing.

"There's something fishy going on here," Minto said as she narrowed her eyes. "Let's go find a door. The first step to finding Ichigo is getting out of here, na no da," Purin suggested. Minto nodded and looked around. The room seemed endless. "But where are the walls?" Minto asked. Purin and Zakuro looked around also. "It seems we are trapped," Zakuro commented. Purin nodded wildly and ran off in one direction, but soon came bounding back. She looked as though she'd been a deer in front of a pair of headlights. "There's no wall, na no da!"

* * *

"Come, I will talk so that you will not become lost or separated from me," The invisible man said. Retasu looked back at the Masaya-bear before walking out the door. "All right," She said. "But first, I should like to know what you remember of me. You said you were not sure if you remembered me," The voice requested. Retasu nodded as they walked down the padded corridor. "When you presented the bear to me I saw an image of hands giving me a soft teddy bear, akin to the one you just gave me. The hands were pale and strong and there was a good feeling with them," Retasu paused. There was silence for a while. "I see. Well, off to other things," The invisible man said. 

"Do you enjoy formal dining?" He asked. Retasu cocked her head at him. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Ah, yes, I forgot. Your civilization has not yet advanced that far. Formal dining is when you wear beautiful and stiff clothes, like the gown you are wearing now, which makes you look so lovely and brings out your eyes. You sit at a table and the food is brought to you. You eat with many utensils; however, we shall only be eating with three of them: the spoon, the fork, and the knife. When the other guests come, we shall bring out the other silverware," The invisible man explained as they rounded one of the corners. He talked of many things to Retasu, of past, future, present, things he had advanced in and she told him her opinions on something, but two things remained prominent on her mind: Ryou and the Masaya-bear.

The invisible man threw open a huge pair of double doors that Retasu was sure would've taken her hours to open. She gasped at the splendor and glory of the room. One large chandelier lit the entire room. It was made of the purest diamonds which sparkled in the candle light. It was made of silver with ornate swirling fish designs. The walls were engraved in intricate patterns with an thin emerald varnish which made the room sparkle green. On the floor was silver tiling, reflecting all the light which bounced around the room. Around the room beautiful bouquets of shimmering silver and diamond flowers with emerald stems had been hung. The same flowers decorated the table. Which drew her attention to the shimmering white dining cloth, which seemed not white at all, but a blend of silver, emerald, and of the warm white light cast off by the candles and diamonds. "Is this room pleasing?" The invisible man asked as Retasu gazed in awe. She looked up at where she supposed his face to be and said, "Yes, I like it very much."


	10. Guardian's Kiss

**Chapter 10**

Kira pressed her lips gently against Kish's and let goodness and love flow into him. She could barely bring herself to do it, but the Guardian's Kiss never failed. She drew herself away from Kish and looked into his eyes. "You will never forget me, Kisshu of the cyniclons. You will never forget me or my kiss," Kira said softly. Then she turned and dove into the ocean. Berry shouted, "Andean Cat Deep Sea Transformation!" She rose up and her legs were bound by silver sparkles. They spread and vanished leaving her with a silver mermaid's tail with spiraling white designs. "Humboldt Penguin Deep Sea Transformation!" Ringo shouted as she dove in. Her legs were pound by a deep scarlet tail decorated with intricate red designs.

Kish looked down into the water after them. It seemed that all the hate had left him. All the hard feelings and sadness were gone. Taruto spoke up after a second. "Well, are we going to go after them?" He asked. Kish continued staring at the water and felt a deep sense of longing not for Kira, but for Ichigo. Ichigo the Koneko-chan girl of the village. "Yes," He replied slowly and turned toward his two comrades. "We are going after them," Kish said firmly and smiled mischievously at them. Taruto and Pai looked at each other and back at Kish. "What are we waiting for?" Taruto asked. The three northerners dove into the sea to try and catch up with everyone else.

Kira amazingly swam faster than both Ringo and Berry. The trio sped down the path Ichigo had gone. Kira's uncanny sense of where her charge had gone guided her down to the depths of the ocean. Soon the trio saw a pinprick of light. "What's that up ahead?" Ringo asked. "It's the portal to the monster's kingdom," Kira replied. "Don't talk, it's using up our energy," Berry chided the two. The trio lapsed into silence. Kira pushed herself harder and harder, going faster and faster. She left a large column of solid bubbles in her wake and the water turned to pockets of air as her blazing wings cut through it.

"Kira! Why are you going so fast?!" Ringo shouted. Kira didn't waste her energy trying to reply, she only sped up and hoped that the girls could match her pace. If not, they'd have one heck of a time with the cyniclons. The pinprick of light turned into a small ball of light. Kira pushed herself harder. The water around her wings first glowed blue, then green. It turned to a burning red then an avid orange. A paper thin shield of fire formed in front of her, pushing the water away before she touched it. Kira was a blur of red and orange as she approached the portal and vanished into it.

Ichigo had been given a choice of large rooms to decorate, of fabrics for the bride's and bridesmaid's dresses, and of many other things. "I never knew planning a wedding could be this hard," she sighed, thinking of when she had played at giving a wedding when she was five. It had seemed so easy then. Just put on a fancy dress and find someone to marry. Most of the time she'd married Kira and Keiichiero had been the one to pronounce them man and wife. Ichigo smiled at the memory.

Ichigo looked down at the fabrics she'd chosen. The wedding would be themed emerald green, as was Retasu's color, but mostly white because Ichigo thought that a good wedding always had a fair amount of white in it. All the bridesmaids' dresses were in varying shades of blue-green with sparkling white jewels and small hair accessories made of pearls and emeralds and jade.

Ichigo clapped her hands twice. "These need to be made into dresses. This one is for Retasu, this one is for me, and these are for the bridesmaids. The other two are for the men. There will be six of them correct? Make them in the fashions I've circled here," Ichigo announced to the invisible servants, pointing to some circled designs in a thick book. Invisible hands whisked the cloth and the book away and Ichigo watched the door silently open and close. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this," she murmured to herself. Ichigo felt like she was talking to air and maybe going somewhat insane.

A paper floated in and landed next to her. It was an invitation to dinner. Ichigo heard her stomach growl and said, "All right. Lead the way." Invisible hands picked her up and sped her to a pair of small ornate doors. They opened the doors and Ichigo gasped in wonder, although not really surprised. She looked around and saw Retasu at one end. Her heart lifted with joy and relief at seeing her porpoise friend. "Retasu-chan!" she shouted.

Minto started banging on the glass above Ichigo's room with her high heeled shoes. "Come on guys, help me get in there," She said. Purin and Zakuro did their best to break the glass by jumping on it and pounding on it with more shoes. Small scratches appeared in the glass, but nothing substantial happened. "This glass is tons harder to break from the outside," Minto commented as disappointment started to settle in.

"Hey! I have an idea, na no da!" Purin exclaimed. Minto and Zakuro looked over at their yellow friend. "What is it?" Zakuro asked. "Well, spit it out," Minto commanded. "What if Minto-san was on top of Zakuro-san and I was on top of Minto-san and I jumped down on the glass and Minto-san jumped down after me? That's sure to break it, na no da," Purin explained. Minto and Zakuro thought it over for a moment.

"Well, I suppose it's worth a try, if Zakuro-onee-sama doesn't mind holding us up, of course," Minto slowly replied and looked over at Zakuro. Zakuro nodded. "I believe that we have a very good chance of getting in there," She replied. Minto bent over and told Purin to get on her shoulders, which the little monkey-girl obligingly did. Minto straightened as much as she could and walked over to where Zakuro was perched at the edge of the glass. Zakuro bent over and grunted as she struggled with the combined weight of Purin and Minto. "I don't think my back is ever going to be the same," Zakuro commented. "Well, here goes," Minto said. Purin stood up, causing the small tower of girls to waver. She jumped off and put all her weight into the crash. Spider web like cracks spread along the glass and the part where Purin was sunk a little. "Purin, move!" Minto shouted. Purin rolled out of the way as Minto leaped off Zakuro's shoulders and down onto the glass.

The thick barrier gave way and shattered. Minto and Purin fell to the floor in a heap. Minto quickly ducked her head, shielding it from the falling shards of glass. She pulled Purin down, saving her friend as well. The shards struck the floor around them and created small scratches on their arms and hands. Minto stood once she was sure the time had passed. She found she could only stand halfway up because some shards of glass were pinning her dress to the ground. Minto pulled the dress up. Glass shards splayed in different directions and the bottom of the dress ripped. Purin sprang right back up, dragging the glass shards with her. Zakuro leaped gracefully down and landed on the floor in front of them.

"Ichigo went through this wall," Purin pointed to the wall behind them. Zakuro ran her hands along the wall. "It's solid. Nothing could've gotten through here," She commented, lightly hitting the wall with her fist for good measure. "But we saw Ichigo vanish. This wall can't be real," Minto firmly said and pushed on it. Her hand vanished and so did half her arm! Minto followed her limbs through and poked her head back into the room. "Come on guys, I think if you stop believing that the wall is real that it disappears," She exclaimed. Purin had a determined look on her face and ran headlong into the wall. She ran right through and Minto was pulled back with a small cry. Zakuro shrugged and headed in after them.

Retasu looked with awe at all the courses which were served. "Now don't stuff yourself. I've planned a special dessert," The invisible host said. Retasu nodded. After a moment she noticed that the invisible man wasn't eating as she was. "Are you not hungry?" She asked. "It is pleasure enough for me to watch you eat," He replied. Retasu blushed and looked down, not quite sure how to reply to the unexpected compliment. Dinner was silent, except for a few instruments played expertly by invisible hands.

"Retasu, would you marry me if I asked you?" The man asked. Retasu paused. "How can I marry someone I cannot see?" She asked. The man sighed so heavily and unhappily that Retasu felt her heart twist and she felt as though she should've said yes. But to say that would be to condemn herself. It would be to restrict herself from ever being with Ryou. Retasu suddenly felt her appetite leave her. "I don't think I ca eat anything else," She commented, pushing her plate back. "I'm sorry, I've upset you. But won't you stay for a while longer?" The invisible man asked. Retasu nodded and looked down at her hands.

She looked up when she heard her name. "Ichigo?" She asked and jumped up. Retasu ran to meet her dear friend. The two embraced in a large girl hug. Ichigo was the one to break the hug. She pulled back and looked Retasu up and down. "Look at you! You look like you're dressed for a ball!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You look gorgeous too, Ichigo. Are you here to eat with us?" Retasu asked. "Us? Who else is here?" Ichigo asked looking at the table. "Oh, it's the invisible host," Retasu replied. Ichigo nodded, suddenly somewhat serious at the thought of Retasu marrying . . ._ him._ "Ichigo, is something wrong?" Retasu asked. Ichigo shook her head and started walking toward where Retasu had been sitting. "No, everything's all right for the most part," Ichigo replied. "Have you eaten yet?" Retasu asked. "Well that's why I'm here," Ichigo replied.

After finishing the last course Ichigo and Retasu sat back contentedly. Ichigo made a purring sound in her throat. "Well, Ladies. The feast is over. Retasu I will accompany you back to your room," The invisible man announced. Ichigo and Retasu jumped. They'd totally forgotten about him. "You may go back to your rooms or join Retasu later," The invisible man said to Ichigo. Ichigo nodded and sat back in the chair, perfectly willing to sit there for a while longer.

Retasu felt an invisible hand on her arm and was touched by the warmth. He was a living real person, not a ghost or some sort of magical voice in the air. "See you later Ichigo," Retasu said by way of parting as the invisible man escorted her out of the room. "I didn't know Ichigo Koneko-chan was here," Retasu commented to the invisible man after they were out of the dining room. "You didn't ask," He replied. Retasu nodded. "So I didn't. But I'll inquire after the others. Minto, Purin, and Zakuro. They came with me too," Retasu said. "Yes, those three are here also," The invisible man replied. Retasu's heart leaped. "Can I see them too?" She asked. The invisible man paused. "Not tonight," He finally said and started walking again.

The pair reached Retasu's rooms. The invisible man pushed her door open. Retasu walked in and was instantly reminded of the demented teddy bear the invisible man had given her. The Masaya-bear. Retasu's stomach dropped and she instantly felt sorry for the invisible man. What had happened to make him do this sort of thing? "This is your true love is it not?" The invisible man asked. Retasu looked over at where she thought his head would be. "I would kill him to gain your love. I would do anything to win you over. But I know that he is special to you, so I gave him back," The invisible man said slowly, choosing his words. "B-but he's," Retasu started to tell him that Masaya wasn't her true love and that Ryou was. "No, don't speak. Say good-bye to him. I will marry you tomorrow evening," The invisible man said with conviction.

"No!" Retasu shouted. The room was deathly still and Retasu instantly put a hand to her mouth as though to pull the word back. Masaya's eyes opened and he moaned. "Yes you will Retasu. Don't worry, your love will stay safe. We can keep him throughout our marriage," The invisible man said. And the door closed with a click. And Retasu sat down, tears glistening in her eyes. Who was this man that he would marry her against her will?


	11. Golden Memories

**Golden Memories**

Kish floated above the water looking down at the mermaids. Suddenly he teleported down and grabbed out at Kira. He was startled by the temperature shock, but grabbed onto the phoenix girl. He managed to grab her ankle just as she made it through the portal. Both Ringo and Berry were taken by surprise when hands were laid upon them, hauling them downward. Berry twisted her neck and looked at her captor. One of the cyniclon! Berry raised her wand and opened her mouth to shout out her attack when one of the hands squeezed her neck. Berry choked, unable to breathe for a moment.

Pai and Taruto nodded to each other and vanished from the water, reappearing above. Berry and Ringo found themselves unable to breathe, but also knew that they could survive without water for at least five minutes. Berry held out her wand and choked out, "Ribbon—" Pai tightened his grip on the angel mew's abdomen and Berry gasped in pain. Ringo struggled to get away from Taruto and shouted, "Loveberry!" Ringo slapped Taruto's legs with her tail and the cyniclon let out a shout of pain. She pushed away from the boy and shouted, "Midget!" Ringo wrapped her arms around Pai's neck and her weapon's tumbled into the sea. Pai staggered under the combined weight and Taruto shouted, "I am not a midget!" Berry took the opportunity to raised her hand high and complete the phrase, "Check! Ribbon loveberry check!" The blinding white light was released from the wand and the two angel mews dropped into the ocean. Pai and Taruto wailed in pain and nearly fell into the salty sea themselves. When they could see again, Ringo and Berry were nowhere to be seen.

The two angel mews swam down, deeper into the ocean. "What happened to Kira?" Ringo asked. "I'm not sure, but it seems as though she was sucked into a vortex of some sort," Berry replied. "Should we follow?" Ringo inquired after a moment. Berry sighed. "Where she has gone, I don't think we _can _follow."

* * *

Kira awoke in a shallow lake of clear water. Strong, but willowy trees marked by age proudly stood around the banks. Kira picked herself up and shook herself, spraying the crystalline water everywhere. The droplets created a maze of ripples, breaking up the glassy surface of the water. Kira felt a hand on her ankle and looked down to see the cyniclon boy. He was that boy she had been fighting. Who was he? Kish. Yes, that sounded right. Kira shook her foot and the hand slid off. She turned to scout out Ichigo, but paused. She looked back at the boy in the water and felt somewhat guilty about leaving him there. She weighed the consequences and in the end picked him up and hoisted him over her shoulder and began her trek out of the forest.

In a few minutes, Kira spotted a large white marble mansion and felt for Ichigo's presence. Bingo. She smiled to herself and shifted Kish's weight before continuing. "If you don't wake up by the time I mount those steps, I'm leaving you there without regret," Kira said to Kish's unconscious body. She waited a moment for a response, but when she didn't receive one, she continued toward the large ornate mansion. She trudged through the sparse grass and slightly muddy dirt. Finally Kira reached the steps leading up to the mansion.

"Well, this is where I leave you," Kira said and dumped Kish's body unceremoniously on the ground. "Ow, you didn't have to throw me that hard," Kisshu immediately complained. "You were _awake_ that whole time?!" Kira asked, trying to decide if she wanted to punch him or not. "I don't see how that's important," Kish responded and hopped up. "I should punch you for that," Kira threatened. "But you won't," Kisshu replied and arrogantly ascended the staircase.

"And why not?" Kira asked, flying up to where he was with a single flutter of her wings. "Because I know where I'm going," Kisshu replied as he pushed the door open and promptly fell into a large hole concealed by a trap door. Kira immediately dropped to her knees and managed to catch the collar of Kish's shirt. In one swift movement she pulled him out and dumped him on the ground. "You owe me," Kira said, and skirting the trap door, moved on through the entrance hall and down the twisting hallways.

* * *

Ichigo walked up and down the corridors aimlessly, planning a couple things for Retasu's wedding. Finally Ichigo got bored with it and started looking for Retasu's room. Feeling a stroke of independence, Ichigo wandered aimlessly with a purpose: to find Retasu's room.

Ichigo peeked inside rooms and followed the labyrinth of corridors and halls and adjacent rooms in circles and squares and sometimes to dead ends. She came across a wrought iron door, but could not open in. But then again, there were a great number of rooms in this mansion of infinite rooms that she could not open. So she thought nothing of it and moved on. She went up a long staircase and down a small one. Ichigo paused when she reached a soft carpeted hallway. In this hallway there were no windows and no doors. Just repeating paper put up on the walls. However, as Ichigo began to walk down the hallway, she saw a single door at the very end. She quickly walked down the halls, eager to reach the door. The cat-girl gently pushed it open and gasped at what she saw.

It was dazzlingly white. Gold flowers that sparkled with diamonds shimmered in large sparkling bouquets all around the gigantic room. Ornate white and silver benches had been set up all around the room. Sparkling with emeralds, silver flowers decoated the benches. White draped inlaid with gold and silver outlined the shining stained glass windows. Silver, gold, and emerald carpet lined the floor. A thin, but richly colored red carpet ran between the benches and down to the gold steps. Ichigo turned her head and looked at the windows. In pastel colors, the first depicted a young green haired girl and a fair haired boy playing in a flowery meadow. The second, also done in pastels, showed the boy and girl a few years later, and the boy was being pulled away from the girl. The third showed a beautiful golden haired angel cursing the boy to be invisible. Last in the line was the picture of a dazzlingly beautiful green haired mermaid princess, holding hands with the invisible man.

Ichigo turned and gazed down the red carpet. It led to two glitteringly golden steps and atop those was a platform made entirely of silver and gold. Upon the platform stood a podium, etched with intricate emerald flowers. A single silver bound book stood upon the podium. Light generously poured down from the largest window of all. It took up a whole wall and was framed by floaty translucent silver curtains. The window showed the beautiful green haired princess, not a mermaid anymore, but fully human, and the golden haired prince, no longer invisible. Behind them were five lilies and a multi-colored decorative cross. Ichigo smiled and took a closer look at the windows, viewing them fully. As she looked at the windows, the story unfolded in her mind.

A prince and a princess were once happily in love with each other. They were betrothed to be married, but the prince had to go away on a quest. While he was away, he angered a beautiful enchantress who cursed him to be invisible until he found a woman who would marry him. The enchantress also went to the girl he loved and cursed her to be a fish until the prince touched her. And when he touched her she would become half human and could not regain her shape until he married her. The prince went in search of his princess, but could not find her. He dejectedly stood on a cliff and prepared to drown himself. He jumped, and when he landed in the water the princess recognized his form and brushed up against him. And so she changed from a fish to a mermaid. As a mermaid, she lifted him above the water and carried him ashore. When he awoke, the prince recognized his princess and asked her to marry him. The princess agreed and when they were married the enchantress's spells were broken and they lived happily ever after. Ichigo smiled and felt all warm and fuzzy. But something wasn't quite right.

She looked back at the fourth window. That mermaid looked very similar to Retasu. The costume, the hair, the form. It was all Retasu. Ichigo hurried to the center pane, which being the largest also had the most detail. Definitely Retasu. What sort of plot was going on here? Ichigo had known Retasu for all of her life and the only blonde she had ever really known or talked to was Ryou, from the village and this invisible suitor couldn't possibly be Ryou. . . . could it? Ichigo immediately turned and left the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. Ichigo quickly strode back down the hallway to the door on the other end and left the hallway.

* * *

Zakuro was looking at a lump of sheepish discontentment. Purin had run headlong into Minto crashing them both against the wall and onto the floor after that. Minto was glaring at the monkey girl and restraining herself from cynical and sardonic comments while Purin was apologizing repeatedly while accidentally knocking over a vase, catching it, putting it back on its pedestal and then knocking it over again. Finally, Zakuro deemed it time to intervene. "Ok girls, break it up. We need to regroup with Ichigo and find Retasu, Shirogane, and Aoyama," Zakuro said as she hauled Purin away from the vase with one hand and put her other hand on Minto's shoulder.

"Think we can still walk through the walls?" Minto asked. "I don't see why not, na no da," Purin replied and walked through another one. "Hey guys! Check this out!" Purin's muffled voice shrieked through the walls. Minto and Zakuro headed in after and gasped at the sight that met their eyes.

A cut-up dragon hung from a dark metal wall. Chains dug into its wrists and ankles, pinning it to the wall. Gashes and cuts decorated its body like its torn scales. Blood stained the floor below it and various torture devices decorated the walls. Minto turned away and threw up on the floor. Zakuro walked up to the dragon and placed a hand in front of it. Warm air brushed her finger tips, but barely so. "He's alive," Zakuro announced. But Purin was the first to recognize him.

"Hey guys, isn't that . . . Shirogane, na no da?" Purin asked. Minto, feeling very queasy, turned around to look at the dragon again. "It's very likely," She replied in a hollow voice. "Too bad Retasu-san is not here. She could heal him very quickly, na no da," Purin commented. "But how could she? She doesn't know how to use her love," Zakuro stood up for the porpoise girl. "Then Purin will do it. Purin knows how to use Love-Power, na no da," Purin spoke in the third person. Minto felt too queasy to make a sarcastic comment just then, which was just as well.

Purin stood still for a moment and closed her eyes. A warm fuzzy feeling settled in her heart and spread throughout her body. Purin cleared her head of all negative thoughts and brought to mind the memories of everything that had ever made her feel happy. Purin was lifted gently up in the air and softly radiated a pale gold glow. A heart with a healer's cross (FYI: Red Cross, but colored gold and wrapped around a gold heart) materialized in front of her and the room brightened with golden sparkles. Purin held her arms out toward Ryou and the heart floated toward it. It touched him lightly and then the heart suddenly enlarged and then exploded! Golden healing sparkles showered down upon Ryou. Gold veins snaked through his sea snake's body like flowing water and then faded away.

Purin gently touched the ground and opened her eyes. Ryou was still in the same condition as before. "Why didn't it work, na no da?" Purin wondered aloud. Zakuro walked up to Ryou and laid a hand upon where his heart would be. Her hand glowed intense violet and Zakuro winced. "What's Zakuro-san doing, na no da?" Purin whispered to Minto. "She's performing her Healer's Check," Minto replied, feeling a little better from Purin's Tamarin Healer's Cross. "Healer's Check, na no da?" Purin asked. "Healer's Check is unique to the cat-family and allows the person using it to diagnose what's wrong with the patient and what the best cure is," Minto explained. Purin nodded and looked over at Zakuro. The violet light faded from Zakuro's hand and the wolf-woman leaned against the wall next to Ryou.

"Well, why didn't the Tamarin Healer's Cross work on him?" Minto asked. "At this point, a normal Healer's Cross won't work on him. He specifically needs Retasu's love in order to heal at all," Zakuro explained. She opened her eyes wearily and looked over at Ryou. "He's lost so much power and energy and felt so much pain. Shirogane won't be able to continue much longer; he's barely alive as it is," Zakuro continued sadly. "Well, Ladies, all the more reason to find Retasu and Ichigo," Minto said and walked toward the wall. "Wait, Minto-san. We should take Shirogane with us so that Retasu can heal him when we find her, na no da," Purin exclaimed. Minto paused. "Purin, that's a very good idea, but how do we break through the chains without hurting him?" Minto asked. "We should not move him. Anything we do will further damage him and, in his condition, could be fatal," Zakuro explained. "Well, let's leave a marker so that we'll know where to come back to," Minto suggested. "That's a good idea, na no da," Purin commented. "We should mark the door with flour or chalk, like they did in Arabian nights," Minto brainstormed. "No, we should leave a string, like the prince did when he was looking for the Minotaur, na no da," Purin argued. "I think that the string idea is better. We'd be less likely to get lost coming back," Zakuro commented. "But we don't have any string," Minto pointed out. "Purin does," Zakuro argued. "I do, na no da?" Purin asked and went through her pockets. "You have the Finder's String. It is endowed to all the firstborns who have younger siblings, which is why neither Minto nor I have it," Zakuro explained. Purin, who had a plethora of siblings, nodded.

Purin held out her hands. "Tamarin Finder's String," Purin said loudly. Her hands glowed a little, and then returned to normal. Purin looked at them. "Why didn't it work?" Purin asked. "You have to say 'Finder's String Anchor' in order to begin. To end, all you have to do is say, 'String Cut.' When you want to pick it up and follow it back, simply say, 'Follow Finder's String.' Got it?" Zakuro asked. Purin nodded slowly, doubtful that she would remember all of Zakuro's instructions. "So how do I tell it where to go?" Purin asked, realizing that she had no idea where they were going to look for Retasu. "Once you anchor the string, think of Retasu and the string will take the lead," Zakuro replied in a tone which implied, 'no, duh.'

Purin nodded and held out her hands once again. "Tamarin Finder's String, Anchor!" Purin said. Her hands glowed and golden magic pulsed from all over her body into her arms and gathered in the space between her hands. She glowed brightly and then all of the gold light vanished. Floating between Purin's hands was a ball of gold string, the end of which was already on the floor. Purin closed her eyes and thought of Retasu. Immediately the ball tugged her forward and out the door. Minto cast one more worried glance at Ryou and then followed Zakuro out the door.

* * *

Sitting on her bed, Retasu felt like crying. She heard a groan from the Masaya-bear and buried her head in the frilly green pillows on her bed. The Masaya-bear stood up, then flopped back down after feeling the rush of blood to his head. "Nnng . . . Where's Ichigo?" Masaya asked, sitting up cautiously. "I don't know," Retasu sobbed. But what Masaya heard was, "eh mff nnn" because Retasu's voice was muffled by the pillow. "What?" He asked, still in a rather confused and sleepy state which was quickly leaning toward grumpy. Retasu rolled over. "I don't know," she repeated with a sniffle. "Okay, how do we get out?" He asked. Retasu shook her head. "He locked the door," she mournfully replied. "who he?" Masaya asked. "The invisible guy that owns this place. I also think that he could've been the sea monster back at the village," Retasu said bitterly. Masaya nodded. "Are there any windows or doors besides this one?" He asked. Retasu looked around. Come to think of it, she'd never actually taken a good look at the room. "There's one over here," She said and jumped up.

She carefully got off the bed and walked quickly toward the door. She placed her hand on the pearly knob, twisted, and pulled. The door opened easily. Inside the room there were books. Shelves of books and books and books. Books stacked neatly on every shelf. Books piled on small tables with cushions for chairs. Books stacked high by the lamps. Books piled beneath the lams for a foundation. And, in the center of the room, was one ginormous picture book. Bound in silver and gold with pearly pages and beautiful illustrations inlaid with precious stones. Retasu approached the book and Masaya, who'd finally figured out how to stand up without feeling nauseous and somewhat queer, followed. Retasu flipped through the pages. It was a children's story, but a very complicated one at that, if complicated was the right word. It had a simple plot, and a nice ending. But after the ending came a description of the characters. There were profiles (like you might find for a jailbird, but in more flattering clothes) and small blurbs about the characters' backgrounds.

Retasu turned to the first character. The prince. He bored a startling resemblance to Ryou. Retasu read his inscription and the more she read, the more she was certain that the prince was Ryou. Strange as it may seem.

_The prince was once in love with the Enchantress. But his parents were in financial trouble and engaged him to the princess of a wealthy kingdom. The prince wanted to elope with the enchantress and so agreed to meet with her at a certain time on a certain day at a certain place. However, his parents, who were spying on him, found out and at once confined him so he could not reach the enchantress. When he still refused to marry the princess, his parents hired a wizard. The wizard cast a spell upon him which caused him to fall deeply in love with the princess. While he was invisible, he built a huge palace for the princess. The prince was never saved from the invisibility spell, nor did he ever marry the princess._

She turned the page to the princess. There was a pale skinned girl with long sparkling blonde hair. She wore a short creamy white dress and white boots with matching gloves. In her hands she held a wand with a bunny head surrounded by ribbons and berries. Fluffy white angel wings fluttered neatly behind her. Piercing magenta red eyes stared at Retasu. Retasu read the inscription next to the profile.

_The Enchantress once shared a love with the prince. But then the Prince's parents engaged him to a princess from a far away land. The prince was going to run away with the enchantress, but the king and queen locked him away. The Enchantress waited and waited for the Prince at the appointed place, but he never showed his face. When she found him, he was spending time with the princess that they both had so despised. She was angered that he would smile at the princess and kiss her tenderly, as he had done to the enchantress. In a fit of anger, the enchantress cast spells upon the both of them. She turned the princess into a fish, in the hopes that she would be caught by a fisherman and eaten. Then she turned the prince invisible. She had actually wanted to kill him, but since she was kindhearted inside, she merely made him invisible. Afterward, she killed herself. However, before she died, the wizard who'd cast the spell on the prince cursed the enchantress, the princess and the prince that they would reincarnate until they worked out their problems._

Retasu turned to the Princess, thinking that there was a very tragic tale within the happily ever after of the children's book. She was startled by how alike the princess looked to herself. Retasu ran her finger along the princess's hair before reading the caption.

_When she was younger, the princess fell into the water and was rescued by a water dragon. When she awoke, the water dragon had turned into a man. Once she had opened her eyes, the man quickly dove into the water. Years later, the princess was engaged to the prince. She didn't want to marry him, or anyone else besides the water-dragon boy. However, once she saw the picture, she was convinced that the prince was the water-dragon boy and fell in love with him. After the enchantress placed the fish-spell on her, the Princess dove into the water which led to the sea. While in the sea, she found out that the prince was not her water-dragon boy. She confessed her love to the water dragon when she found him, but the dragon ignored her. Then she asked him about the girl he had once saved. He said that it was because that girl reminded him of the girl he loved and had by now married. The princess was very sad. She swam back to the castle gardens and never really loved the prince again._

Retasu felt repulsed. This children's story sure had a ton of tragedy behind it. All Retasu could see was lost love, hopelessness, and anger. Instead of reading further in about the other side characters she turned to the beginning of the story. She might as well see what happened. As she read through it, she decided that it really was a very romantic story. But all the negative feelings that went into making it happen made her sad. But then she began to relate the situation in the story to her situation right now. What if the invisible man really was the prince? What if she was the princess? If that was so, then she really was destined to marry Ryou, who represented the water-dragon boy and, unlike in the story, was in love with her. She could marry him. But what about the invisible man? If the story was right, then he needed to be united with the enchantress. Who was the Enchantress? She was key. If Retasu was right, then she would be free of the invisible man's clutches forever.


End file.
